Legislation on coal-bed methane drilling in the works

The coal-bed methane legislation ball is rolling, but no one can tell quite what it looks like yet.

Valley legislator Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla, announced last week legislation is being developed to protect property and water rights in relation to coal-bed methane drilling.

It's an effort, he said, to strengthen existing laws.

"To say private property rights should reign supreme, frankly," Kohring said Tuesday. "I would like to do what I can to work with folks to strengthen property rights."

Kohring said his intent is to do anything he can -- within the confines of the Alaska Constitution -- to add in protections for private property owners on whose property minerals are being developed. After hearing from area residents concerned about the potential effects of shallow-gas drilling, he said he believes there may be room to make state law more clear, and set out requirements. Some may be, he said, that shallow-gas developers may not trespass or enter a person's property without adequate notice, and that a surface-use agreement acceptable to property owners be negotiated in good faith.

"I'm trying to be open-minded to the concerns of the public," Kohring said. "I'm trying to be aware of the concerns out there, while not being reactionary."

To that end, he said, he has asked staff in the legislative legal and research office in Juneau to work on drafting legislation he hopes will supplement what's already on the books, specifically House Bill 69. Not because the bill needs to be changed, he said, just to further elucidate property owners' protections.

"This is not to say HB 69 is flawed. I'm trying to clarify what the intent of HB 69 is," Kohring said. "I still am convinced our subsurface regulations protect private property rights and water rights. All I'm trying to do is just add to that."

Although Kohring asked for the bill, he said it's currently being developed as a House Oil and Gas Committee bill, and will bear the name of the committee he chairs. He said he's just seeking to get the ball rolling, and would welcome others interested in putting their own legislation in. There's still time, he said, to change the legislation.

"We're early in the process," Kohring said. "We want to gather more information from people, we're watching the DNR process, and we'll see what we can glean from that that we can put into legislation."